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Donald Trump: Rosie O'Donnell 'Actually Saved Me'

By Antoinette Bueno 11:22 AM PDT, August 19, 2015

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Here's something you don't see too often -- Donald Trump actually being grateful for Rosie O'Donnell.

The 69-year-old Republican presidential hopeful and the 53-year-old comedian have famously butted heads in the past, but in a new interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Trump says O'Donnell "saved" him during the Republican debate in Ohio earlier this month. When moderator Megyn Kelly called him out for misogynistic comments he's made in the past -- which included referring to calling women "fat pigs" and "slobs" -- Trump quipped, "Only Rosie O'Donnell."

"Rosie actually saved me because that was a rough question," Trump now reflects. "So Rosie, finally you saved me. Because the room went wild. Between the laughing and the applause -- it really stopped the rest of the question, which was just a continuation of 'kill.' That was a question that could have ruined my whole evening."

The celebrity billionaire says that a lot of his comments some people have pointed out as offensive to women come from interviews with Howard Stern, which he did long before he became a presidential hopeful.

"When you're with Howard, you're talking. I never intended to be running for president," he explains. "You're talking, you’re having fun, you're a big real estate developer and a big businessman and what you say doesn't matter."

"It's always very dangerous to do Howard because you're all having a great time and you're laughing and you get 19 calls from reporters saying, 'Is it true that you said this?'" he adds. "But in those days, there weren't any calls because I was a real estate guy and nobody cared. They cared, but it was open season. Today I wouldn't say that."

Trump says he hasn't talked to Heidi Klum since telling The New York Times that she's "no longer a 10," but that he "knows her." He apparently knows a lot of A-list stars. Calling out Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep as his favorite actresses, he explains, "The problem is I'll name three or four or five and then the hundred that I know will be insulted, and I don't mean to insult them."

Trump is more candid about other timely topics in the news during the lengthy chat, such as Bill Cosby. Almost 50 women have accused the 78-year-old comedian of sexual assault.

"I was never a fan," Trump says, also sharing that Cosby once bought him a suit after the two both appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman on the same night. "His humor was always, like, slow and stupid to me. I never saw it. And then he's obviously got this stuff."

"What amazes me is he was so quiet and then you see these depositions," he adds. "What was he doing? Was he drunk? ... I think he's weird. And I never found his humor good at all. Just sit in a chair, talk very slowly? And I say to myself, 'What's this all about?'"

As for Caitlyn Jenner, Trump seemingly couldn't care less. "I'm not surprised at the ratings," he says about E!'s docuseries I Am Cait's ratings drop. "I just think it wouldn't interest you. I knew him a little bit when Bruce was a great athlete. He was one of the best-looking people you'll ever see."